1. Field of Invention
The subject matter of this application is in the field of vibrational shaker elements.
2. Background of the Invention
Music is an art form composed of a collection of sounds and silence. Although sounds are physical waves through air or another medium, sounds that are used for musical purposes are mostly perceived by the sense of hearing instead of the sense of touch or feel. That said, many music listeners desire feeling the component sounds of music because experiencing music through the senses of hearing and touch enables a heightened perception and understanding of the music. For instance, a singer recording lyrics to the music of a song may wish to feel and hear the music so that the singer can be more in tune and time with the recording. In another instance, a dancer or weightlifter may want to feel music so that the feel of the music can guide or otherwise influence the dancer's/weightlifter's body movements. In yet another instance, some listeners of relaxing sounds can achieve a more relaxed state by physical stimulation associated with the physical touch of sounds. Blind or seeing-impaired persons frequently use sounds to get their bearings (e.g., when crossing the street) and deaf people can only enjoy music by feeling.
The feel of music can be achieved with energetic or loud sounds because sounds are physical waves through a medium. However, overly energetic sounds are damaging to a listener's sense of hearing, disruptive to verbal communications, and stress causing. As a result, users may have a limited ability to touch or feel music in everyday situations. Sometimes, loud or overly energetic musical sounds are tolerated so that music can be felt. For instance, some workers and patrons at a bar, night club, or exercise facility might tolerate loud music so that the full music experience can be enjoyed by everyone else in the facility. In view of the foregoing, a need exists for apparatus and related methods for feeling or touching music without the need for overly energetic sound waves that may damage ears. Various apparatus have been devised for imparting the sense of touch to sounds without employing excessively energetic sounds. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 8,391,516 (circa 2013), U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,244 (circa 1997), and 6694[4]035 (circa 2001) disclose body-worn apparatus that vibrate the wearer in response to an audio signal. Body worn apparatus, while capable of imparting a form of touch to the wearer, cannot touch others with the sounds of music who are not wearing the device. Also, such body worn apparatus must usually be fit to a wearer for optimal feeling of the sounds. Finally, these body worn apparatus cannot provide a sense of direction by physical touch since the apparatus are always at the same position on the body.
Other apparatus are known for imparting the feeling or touch of sounds to a user. These apparatus are usually in the form of mattresses or chairs that impart physical motions caused by sounds to users seated or lying on the apparatus. See, e.g.: U.S. Pub. Pat. App. Nos. 20110044486 (circa 2011) and 20130107216 (circa 2013); U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,810 (circa 1992) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,617,089 (circa 2013); and Pub. App. WO2000002516 (circa 2000). While capable of imparting physical sensations associated with sound, these apparatus are not always suitable because the apparatus restrict the types of movements music listeners can accomplish while simultaneously feeling music. Such apparatus are also not tied to correspond to audio signals. Furthermore, these apparatus cannot provide bearings for traveling listeners.
Another apparatus that is known to impart the feeling or touch of music is a speaker. Specifically, the feel of sound may be experienced via contact with a loudspeaker because a speaker produces sound from vibrations of a diaphragm. Two problems exist for using a speaker to feel sound. First, the vibrating diaphragm uses a majority of the vibrational energy produced by the speaker to push air in to the form of a sound wave. This means that any meaningful touch of sound that results from contact with a speaker is accompanied by loud and damaging energetic sounds from the speaker. Second, speakers are often remotely positioned relative to a user, which is a disadvantage for those desirous of feeling music “in the moment.” Thus, a speaker is not an optimal apparatus for imparting the feeling music. Speakers can be unnecessarily damaging to ears because amplitude may be too high to “feel” the energy via sound waves.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for apparatus and related methods for feeling or touching music unaccompanied by damaging energetic sound waves. A further need exists for apparatus and related methods for feeling music in a manner that does not restrict the listener's movements and in a way that is capable of providing directional bearings for a user.